New handwind portuguese 5454

I love that model.

The way I see it you have what amounts to a limited edition 5454. I really like the contrasting subdial. Others disagree. But either way the your watch was produced for less than a year. That makes it unique.

beautiful.

Hi Kelvin,

Based on what I've read of this issue in the archives:

(a) 545405 is not a limited production model, so for this category IWC usually does not release model production data until 10 years after discontinuance. 545405 given its prominence on the website, would still be considered part of the active collection as of this moment.

for limited editions, with the serial numbering you would know, although not all will be made at the same time, even the same year.

besides this 10 year information restriction, there is also the logistical issue as recounted in Michael's revealing post here on IWC's archival work.

(b) if production has ceased as of now, and it started selling sometime in 2010, then I suppose not many would have been made, as Alan mentioned earlier.

Of course, we can roughly gauge the numbers and compare it with another edition, non-limited, and similarly discontinued after about a year - I don't know what past examples there are but some forum participants may.

A basic comparison I can do: I have read here in the forum that production (estimated?) numbers for the non-LE Mark XII active from 1993-1999 was about 10,000 pieces per year.

Thanks for highlighting your 545405 on this forum - its certainly made me look properly at it. I knew eventually I would get a handwound edition, and this one with the contrasting subdial and the perfect size (for me) seems pretty much it.

apologies, my bad - I checked again. My Mark XII example must be corrected. certainly considerably less than 10,000 were made per year would be the best "guess-timate" I can post here with integrity.

Though I suspect the matching subdial will prove to be more popular, I personally prefer the gray subdial. I think it adds a lot of interest to the watch, and is different from the other Portuguesers. The solid color subdial seems just a tad redundant to others that are already out there.

I think this will be a long term keeper for me, and maybe for you, too?

just had to try it ...

(back from dinner preceded by a tour of the watch-dealer-harassment - 3 to be exact - thank goodness HK has dozens of IWC dealers downtown ! )